Although regarded as "disgusting"
and scandalous and prompting demands for censorship, May Irwin and
John Rice re-enacted a lingering kiss for Thomas Edison's film
camera in this 20-second long short, from their 1895 Broadway stage
play The Widow
Jones.

It was the first film ever made of a couple kissing
in cinematic history, and became the most popular film produced that
year by Edison's film company (it was filmed at Edison's Black Maria
studio, in West Orange, NJ).

A Fool There Was (1915)

First Vamp Kiss

The original vamp and first movie sex goddess,
the full-bosomed Theda Bara, starred in a number of early silents
for the Fox Film Corporation - her first lurid, slinky vamp appearance
(and first lead role) was in this Fox "psychological"
melodrama.

She portrayed a worldly, predatory woman who stole
a wayward married man (Mr. Victor Benoit) from his wife and child
by luring him with kisses ("Kiss me, my Fool!"). The catchphrase
later became popularized as: "Kiss me, you fool!"

Behind the Screen (1916)

'Gay' Kiss

In this two-reeler's
infamous 'gay' scene, hired film studio worker David (Charlie Chaplin)
kissed a young girl (Edna Purviance) who was dressed in masculine clothing
(as a masquerading way to find work).

They upset his brutish and
burly foreman Goliath (Eric Campbell) who believed they were homosexual
and teased them mercilessly by acting 'prissy' to mock them.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

Tango Kiss

This long war epic from Metro Pictures, one of the biggest
silent film hits ever made, featured Argentinian Julio's (Rudolph Valentino)
sexy (but forbidden) tango dance and kissing scene in a seedy, smoke-filled
Argentinian cantina near Buenos Aires.

In this early scene in Erich Von Stroheim's epic tale, self-taught
quack dentist McTeague (Gibson Gowland) lustfully looked down at
the unconscious, sedated face of his patient - ether-anesthetized,
helpless Trina (ZaSu Pitts) in his dental chair. His eyes were
fixed on her and he lustfully bent down toward her - but then he
held back and resisted the strong temptation and impulse to molest
her (inherited from his degenerate hereditary line).

He took out
his drill to begin working, but still appeared disturbed: (Subtitle)
"But below the fine fabric bred of his mother, ran the foul stream
of hereditary evil...the taint of generations given through his father." He
smelled her hair and her perfume, and eagerly leaned over and could
not resist kissing her full on the mouth while she was under the influence
of the ether. His agitated pet bird jumped and hopped about in its
cage in a corner of the office.

At the conclusion of the shameful kiss,
he pulled back, grabbed his hair in distress, and continued working.

Sherlock, Jr. (1924)

Imitative Kiss

This classic silent comedy included
a scene of lovelorn projectionist and flustered 'detective' Sherlock,
Jr. (Buster Keaton) kissing his sweetheart/girlfriend (Kathryn McGuire)
in the projection booth.

He was following and imitating
the cues of the leading-man screen actor kissing his girl on the
big screen.

King Vidor's influential war film, the highest grossing
silent film in cinematic history, told of the experiences of a group
of US doughboys who were sent to France to fight in WWI (The Great
War), where one of them found love with a French girl.

In a marvelous, fully pantomimed, classic sequence
- (one of the most famous scenes in silent film) - filmed in a single,
uninterrupted take after they sat down on a bench beside her front
steps, American soldier Jim Apperson (John Gilbert) introduced his
French-speaking peasant girlfriend named Melisande (Renee Adoree)
to American chewing gum with a lesson on how to stretch the gum out
of one's mouth.

To her surprise, she swallowed the stick of gum with
one large gulp and then politely refused his offer of a second piece.
With broken French, he boldly and awkwardly attempted to tell her
of his love, and she reciprocated the attempt in broken English,
and resisted his advances for a kiss.

However, during their eight
o'clock date that evening, when they both retreated to the wine cellar,
in candlelight, he pointed out what he wanted to say to her about
his love for her from his French primer. She beamed a smile back
at him and they both shared a delicious, long kiss. When they rendezvoused
later, their passion was released in a flood of kisses by the stream's
edge under a tree.

At war's end, when amputee Jim returned to France
to meet his lover, they joyously embraced and kissed each other
to end the film.